Soon, very soon now, fans will get to see exactly what an Oliver Stone sequel looks like. The original hit theaters in 1987, earning Michael Douglas a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as shark Gordon Gekko. In the original, the morally bankrupt Gekko coaches young newcomer Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) as he enters the fast-paced world of stock trading.

Gekko finds some redemption in the coming sequel, "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," when he links up with another young trader -- Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf) -- on the eve of a catastrophic financial crisis. It's not so unusual, to turn a one-time villain into a redemptive figure (see also: "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"). He'll even have a daughter in this outing, Winnie Gekko, played by Carey Mulligan. Read more...

It's still sort of amazing to me that a "Wall Street" sequel is happening. Not just happening, but being helmed by the original's director, Oliver Stone. It just seems... off.

No matter though. It's happening. And Gordon Gekko, Michael Douglas's iconic shark, is back. In "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," he's teaming with Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf) to warn the finance industry of the coming economic crisis... and solve a murder mystery! Sounds awesome. Hit the jump for an on-set glimpse of Douglas and LaBeouf and Gekko and Moore. Read more...

-- Filmmaker Charles Burnett is stepping up to direct a feature-length documentary about President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. The film, titled "Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit" will not only track our president's childhood, but also Dunham's work in helping out developing countries. President Obama is currently "in talks" to be involved; my bet is that he will be. (The Hollywood Reporter)

-- Hey, want to see a new clip from "Pandorum," out later this month? Check it:

(Bloody-Disgusting) Read more...

Shia LaBeouf sat down with the BBC recently to promote next week's Michael Bay blockbuster "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." The actor had some enlightening things to say about the giant robot spectacle. There was one comment in particular that kneejerk detractors of shallow action films should definitely take heed of: "This is escapism. This is a fun movie." (emphasis his) Damn straight, Shia. Damn straight.

The actor also had something to share about the next "Indiana Jones" movie. As you may remember, LaBeouf starred opposite Harrison Ford in 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." The short version: it's happening. Want to know more? Keep reading. Read more...

Back in February, Oliver Stone told MTV News that he would not be coming to save “Wall Street 2,” the sequel to his Zeitgeist-defining drama about corporate greed in the 1980s. Fox had fast-tracked the movie late last year as the economic downturn became severe.

“I dropped out,” he said. “I didn’t want to do another ‘Wall Street’ movie. I think everything I had to stay came through.”

Well, something changed in the last couple months, because Stone has now signed on to direct the picture. Michael Douglas is likely to reprise his role as merciless corporate raider Gordon Gekko and Variety is reporting that Shia LaBeouf is in negotiations to join the film as well. Read more...

He’s made movies about pornographers and serial killers, tortured ‘Nam soldiers and tortured ‘Nam vets, assassinated presidents and disgraced presidents. But to hear Oliver Stone tell it, his last film might have been his riskiest.

“I’m lucky to have survived,” the Oscar-winning director told MTV on the eve of the DVD release of 2008’s George Bush biopic “W.” “It was a movie that was dangerous to make.” What could be risky about depicting a sitting president, dramatizing events still fresh—and sometimes painful—in viewers’ minds and hustling crazily to release the film less than a month before the election? Oh, right. “It could have gotten killed,” Stone went on. “We survived the onslaught.” Read more...

One man who will not be coming to save “Wall Street” is Oliver Stone. Last fall, as the economic situation went from bad to straight up scary, Fox announced it was fast-tracking development of a sequel to the director’s 1987 classic about ruthless businessmen in shiny suits. Now, in an exclusive interview with MTV News, Stone revealed he will have nothing to do with the project.

“I dropped out,” he said. “I didn’t want to do another ‘Wall Street’ movie. I think everything I had to stay came through.”

There was a time, however, when he and fellow scriptwriter Stanley Weiser discussed picking up the story again. “We invested this a while ago,” Stone said, “but we couldn’t come up with the right way to go about it. I think there’s an interesting movie to be made in there. I’m just not interested because it’s so complex now. I don’t think people can understand security derivatives. But these types of people [on Wall Street] -- essentially it’s the same mentality.” Read more...

Hail to the chief, he’s the chief and he needs hailing…

Right now it’s hard to escape political coverage of the election at hand. It's consumed "Saturday Night Live" and it’s almost the sole topic of "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." And now this weekend we can’t get away from it in the movie theaters either, with the release of Oliver Stone’s "W," the film starring Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush that tells the story of how Dubya became our nation's commander in chief.

Now, after eight years of Bush, some people might not want to watch another two hours about him. To avoid overload, I dug up some other presidential choices for you. Maybe they wouldn’t have made for the best president to lead the free world, but they are damn entertaining to watch. Try and not be engrossed by their ability to hold down the White House. Read more...

This weekend, moviegoers will hope to escape the economy, the war, and other real-life problems brought about after 8 years of George W. Bush by going to see a movie about…George W. Bush? But before you head out to see Josh Brolin’s award-worthy transformation into our 43rd President, it’s intriguing to contemplate the notion that Batman, John Connor, Patrick Bateman and W. all nearly shared the same face.

When director Oliver Stone first set out to make his biopic “W.,” he cast none other than Christian Bale in the role. Yep, you read that right. Read more...

By and large I love me some Oliver Stone. I will defend just about all of his work except for "Alexander". But even I am not sure what to make of his take on the life and times of George W. Bush. "W." opens in just over a month (check out full Fall movie preview here) and each glimpse me leaves me simultaneously intrigued and skeptical. Will Oliver pull off something special? Your guess is as good as mine. In the meantime, here's an exclusive image.